In many areas of technology, such as in aircraft technology, it is necessary or desirable to secure an elongate element to a surface of a component at a defined relative position. One particular example is structural panels for aircraft. A known type of such structural panels is produced, e.g., by securing elongate stiffening elements, such as stringers, to a surface of a plate-shaped component or skin such that the longitudinal direction of the elongate stiffening element extends along the surface. For traditional aircraft having a metallic airframe the stiffening elements were typically secured to the skin by riveting. For aircraft built using composite materials welding techniques have also been considered.
In order to be able to efficiently secure an elongate element to a surface of a component by welding it must be ensured that the elongate element is reliably held in a fixed position on the surface while the employed welding tool or tools are moved along the elongate element.